Card games have become very popular in my house recently. They are a perfect way to stay out of the uncooperative weather and still have fun. Games such as Crazy Eights, Go Fish, War, and Uno are hits. But with three small children I cannot hold everyone’s cards for them. Here are three different playing card holders you can use for those little hands.

CLOTHESPIN METHOD

This is a old favorite of mine because clothespins are so accessible. My mom used this method with me when I was a child. It is very easy for the kids to hold.

CHIP CLIP METHOD

The chip clip allows you to spread the cards out easier than the clothespin method. But if you have quite a few children in your house getting together enough chip clips may be difficult.

EGG CARTON METHOD

Simply cut small slits into the bottom of an egg carton on egg egg holder.

Then your child can stand the cards up in the slits. You can space them out easily. The best part is that you can add or remove cards without messing up the rest of the cards. It is a great way to reuse one of these, too. The con of this method is that it can tip over easily.

What do you use in your house to help the littler ones play cards?

Kim is a contributing writer for No Time For Flash Cards, a mom to a toddler, a preschooler, and a foster parent, too. She juggles her day by trying out fun activities and crafts with the kids. After all, she is just a big kid herself. See what she has been up to over at Mom Tried It.

Patterns, ordering, shapes , sorting and counting are all used in this simple Valentine’s Day craft made with playing cards . That’s not even all the wonderful skills used, lacing the cards on uses fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. What I love is that I can make a Valentine’s day craft that is educational, low mess ( no glitter, glue or paint) and cost me less than $3!

Gather your materials. You will need a deck of playing cards with a red design on the back, a heart paper punch, hole punch, some ribbon or yarn , scissors and some clear tape.

Start by sorting the cards into suits . This is a long craft so I only put two suits on our place mat.

Next place the cards in numerical order.

Next hand your child the heart punch and have them punch hearts in cards of other suits . We used the clovers that we sorted in the 2nd step.

While they do that punch holes in the cards that they put in numerical order.

Punch holes in the hearts .

Start threading. This is not easy. Be prepared to help, or if you have a child like mine be prepared to be told you aren’t allowed to help and wait until they ask for it. To make lacing easier wrap tape around the ends of the ribbon/ yarn. My 4 year old laced 3 cards and 4 hearts alone, then handed me the right numbers as I did the lacing. A nice thing about using playing cards is that they are sturdy and hard to tear.